Olympic gold medalist Jessie Diggins notched her first World Cup podium finish of the 2018-19 season, placing third in a freestyle sprint in Toblach, Italy. Sadie Bjornsen, who was the fastest woman in qualification, placed sixth.
The race marked the opening event of the Tour de Ski, an annual cross-country skiing competition where athletes race seven times in three countries over nine days. In addition to earning World Cup points at each stop, athletes also compete for the overall Tour de Ski title, which comes with 400 additional World Cup points.
Sweden claimed the top two spots on the women’s sprint podium, with Stina Nilsson finishing well ahead of the rest of the field and Ida Indemarsdotter placing second.